Mirror's Edge

Mirror's EdgeA new play by Kim HoDirected & Designed by Petra Kalive

"..the staging is tender and funny and steeped in eloquent symbols. The set sparkles as starlight projected on a shimmering backdrop is mirrored on the wet surface, characters sometimes seen behind the screen , as if they’re beyond the sky. " Vera Poh, MELBOURNE ARTS REVIEW

"The creative use of space gave the intimacy of a black box theatre with the benefit of a spacious background scene for tableaux, which worked well in some beautiful ensemble sequences with the inventive and clear direction of Petra Kalive. " Jai Leeworthy, THEATREPEOPLE

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Sea Lake is dying — a tiny drought-stricken town in the heart of the Mallee. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a busload of Chinese tourists turn up to take photos on the nearby salt lake. When the sun goes down, when the light’s just right, the lake turns to mirrorwater and it’s like you’re walking on sky. Not far behind these unlikely visitors comes Kai, fleeing Melbourne, broken and adrift. As Kai begins to understand this strange new place, its cultures and stories start refracting through one another. With tenderness and humour, Mirror’s Edge explores the complexities of cross-cultural encounters.

"Kalive’s confident direction drives the play forward, and performances are excellent throughout...Though it deals with some heavy themes, including loneliness, injury and suicidal ideation, it also demonstrates such themes are universal, whatever language they are spoken in." ARTS HUB, Richard Watts

Lighting Designer - Rachel Burke

Sound Designer - Darius Kedros

Set & Costume Designer - Andrew Bailey

Three young people see each other across a crowded Flagstaff station. They just missed the train. Now they wait. And think. They think about home: Punjab, Delhi, Hyderabad. And about how they just can’t seem to get Melbourne’s rhythm right. And of all the impossible things they must do to stay. And their time is running out.

Developed through MTC CONNECT, and the NEON and Cybec Electric play development programs, this vibrant production puts our city’s contemporary social issues centre stage.

Photos by Jeff Busby

Interview with Petra and Andrew Bailey (Designer) for Melbourne Talam

Interviews with Cast of Melbourne Talam

Melbourne Talam

Macbeth

+ macdeath: a codaDirected by Petra KaliveBy William Shakespeare and Jean Tong

"The combination of [staging, lighting and sound] turned a minimalist black set into something eerie and atmospheric...Jean Tong’s macdeath: a coda was intriguing... [and] poignant...Macbeth + macdeath: a coda is a thought-provoking and intense combination of the traditional and the reinvented Macbeth." THEATRE PRESS

A dark prophecy triggers the rise and fall of an ambitious couple whose wayward moral compass takes them in a deadly direction.

What happens when we subvert the natural order of things? “Things bad begun make strong themselves by ill.” So pr’ythee, come with us.

Redemption

"...a strong commentary"

AUSSIE THEATRE.COM

"Redemption is a good looking production"

THEATRE PEOPLE

One night in a forgotten country parish - two priests are reunited.

Ben is the new face of the Catholic Church, sent to investigate a retired Monsignor accused of sexually abusing a boy, thirty years ago. Terry is his neglected mentor, a man who believes the mercy of Christ can redeem even the most heinous of sinners. And in the darkness is God. Listening to their lies. Waiting for the truth.

Much has been documented about the horrors of child sexual abuse, the terrible suffering of the victims, the betrayal of those who were supposed to provide protection. Redemption acknowledges all of these narratives by delving beneath the media coverage and investigating the terrible dichotomy that allows this abuse to go on unchecked. It examines the very philosophies of the Catholic church and asks the audience to think beyond well documented evidence of conspiracy, lies and cover-up.

Written by Anthony Crowley

Directed by Petra Kalive

Performed by Tom Considine and Anthony Crowley

Set and costume design by Casey-Scott Corless

Lighting design by Lisa Mibus

Image by Sarah Walker and Anthony Crowley

La Mama - Carlton Courthouse March 16-27 2016

Duration: 64 minutes

Redemption

One night in a forgotten country parish - two priests are reunited.

Ben is the new face of the Catholic Church, sent to investigate a retired Monsignor accused of sexually abusing a boy, thirty years ago. Terry is his neglected mentor, a man who believes the mercy of Christ can redeem even the most heinous of sinners. And in the darkness is God. Listening to their lies. Waiting for the truth.

Written by Anthony Crowley

Directed by Petra Kalive

Performed by Tom Considine and Anthony Crowley

Set and costume design by Casey-Scott Corless

Lighting design by Lisa Mibus

Image by Sarah Walker and Anthony Crowley

Previewing March 16

Wed 6.30pm | Thu, Fri, Sat 7.30pm | Sun 4pm

Approximately 60 minutes

La Mama Courthouse

Taxithi

“I threw a stone behind me and I didn’t look back”

A world premiere, written in Melbourne, produced by fortyfivedownstairs.

Nominated for Green Room Award - Best Director, Petra Kalive (2016)

Nominated for Green Room Award - Best Ensemble (2016)

"A seamless hybrid of story and song, it fuses verbatim theatre with fierce, melancholy rebetika – urban folk music which flourished into a distinctive popular form during the same period the Greek diaspora unfurled itself across the globe. Shards of recollection become sharp vignettes, honed by anguish and passion, freedom and loss....Director Petra Kalive's sensitive direction sweeps you along on complex currents of nostalgia, letting these migrant stories speak for themselves...the most powerful argument for compassion is implied, simply from the richness of the lives represented. It may have special significance to Australians with Greek heritage, but all of us should be edified and entertained by this deeply affecting window into the migrant experience." CAMERON WOODHEAD, THE AGE

The untold stories of women who migrated from Greece to Australia in the 1950s and 60s. Filled with the poignant memories and passionate music of their homeland, these true stories resonate with the strength of the women who made new lives, creating an indelible impression on a faraway country.

Writer and singer Helen Yotis Patterson is joined by Maria Mercedes and Artemis Ioannides.

Taxithi is proudly supported by City of Melbourne

Directed & Designed by Petra Kalive

Musical Direction by Andrew Patterson.

dates: 2-20 March 2016, fortyfivedownstairs

duration: 70 mins no interval

Full Performance 45 Downstairs Season

Echo

Presented by Union House TheatreDirected by Petra KaliveMay 2015

" Petra Kalive has guided Echo’s strong cast to create a devised work that is both entertaining and thought-provoking. The performance opens with a brief retelling of the Greek myth of Echo and Narcissus before moving on to a series of self-contained scenes examining narcissism in contemporary culture. From the first scene the actors establish that high energy and mutual commitment to the concept runs through the entire play....Echo is kooky and fun, with a big handful of social commentary thrown in. It certainly leaves its audience with something to ponder."

Chloe Dallas - The Dialog

'Echo' is an adaptation of the Echo and Narcissus myth. Investigating the modern narcissist, it is a multidisciplinary work exploding contemporary culture into the intensely physical and poetic. Social media has magnified our obsession with the self. Are we more obsessed with ourselves than we have been in the past? What consequence do rising levels of Narcissism have on our culture? Are we all, underneath it all, all about image?

Julius Caesar

The thing about Shakespeare is that although his work is very specifically located, the issues and themes he addresses really are timeless.

This is a play about power. The hunger for it. The resentment for those that have it. The need to band together in tribes. The anger that festers and flares up under repression.

These are issues that we are dealing with in many different ways in the world today. Petra had the opportunity to work with an exceptional group of performing arts students at Monash University in the performing arts program on this project. The students were actors, designers, composers and production crew. They worked incredibly hard to realise this work.

Beached

'Explores the revolting nature of modern entertainment culture with hilarity and skill’ - Arts Hub

'An absolute delight.’ – Crikey

Bed-bound, super morbidly obese Arthur Arthur and his mother JoJo are best friends. They watch telly together. They play scrabble together. They wash together. But when Arty has two heart attacks aged 17, mother and son turn to the only people who can help: the reality TV series, Shocking Fat Stories, who promise to transform this beached whale into…something slightly less beached.

Despite the constant surveillance and an unscrupulous TV producer who’ll stop at nothing to capture a good sound bite, Arty and JoJo are determined to get healthy the same way they do everything…together. And then Arty falls in love with Louise, the Jobcentre Pathways-to-Work Officer determined to get Arty and JoJo off disability benefits and back into the workforce. Now Arty wants his independence but JoJo won’t lose her baby without a fight.

All Photos by Jeff Busby

Hearing the Voices of Parents

Written & Directed by Petra Kalive in consultation with parents and researchers from Melbourne University.

Performed at Coopers Malthouse 2013

Researchers at Melbourne University identified a need for stakeholders in the disability sector (including disability and health services, government, schools, and philanthropic organisations) to better understand the experiences of parents of children with disabilities.

Petra led a process with Melbourne Playback who partnered with the Jack Brockhoff Child Health and Wellbeing program and the Association for Children with a Disability to develop a small-scale theatre production to share the experiences of parents of children with a disability.

The new process of knowledge translation would enable parents to voice their experiences, and provide them with a genuine opportunity to participate in a process highlighting how policies and services can affect their mental health and wellbeing.

Research had found:

49% of parents reporting mental health problems.

Caring for a child with a disability can impact on all areas of a parents’ life, including their physical health, emotional wellbeing, employment and social relationships.

Although there are several studies demonstrating that parents of children with a disability have poorer mental health than other parents, there are few programs/strategies designed to promote their wellbeing.

Services and policies needed to be changed and solutions identified to support parents’ mental health and wellbeing.

It is essential that any solution is shaped by an understanding of parents’ experiences and that parents have a voice in shaping such solutions.

One of the greatest difficulties facing researchers when communicating their findings is to harness the empathy and engagement required for maximum impact. An intellectual understanding is often made but an emotional connection can be lacking, and therefore the impetus for action is not as high.

Hearing the Voices of Parents

Complete Works Theatre Company

As an Associate Artist at Complete Works Theatre Company Petra has directed various classic texts which have toured to schools around regional and metropolitan Victoria.

These productions include:

Macbeth - 2012, 2015

Romeo & Juliet 2012, 2015

Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, 2013

and

Phat Poetry (a 60 minute interactive poetry show), 2012

photos courtesy of Ponch Hawkes

Argonautika

Adaptation by Mary Zimmerman

Directed by Petra Kalive with second and third year Performing Arts Students, Latrobe University, 2014

Argonautika is the tale of Jason and the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece by Mary Zimmerman. This adaptation had its first incarnation at the Lookinglass Theatre, Chicago 2006 directed by Zimmerman herself. She based her adaptation on the epic poem by Apollonius Rhodius. This is a timeless story – a myth that belongs to all of us; for those who sail in troubled waters to find their own ‘golden fleece’ – for those who leave loved ones behind – for the hearts we break, for the deaths we endure – for the wars we wage with “necessary and appropriate force”* - for the failures, friends and foes we meet along the way – the story of Jason travels with us whether we like it or not.

Petra directed 30 second and third year La Trobe University Performing Arts students, rehearsing for two days a week over ten weeks. There were separate casts for Act 1 and Act 2. The students went on an incredibly steep learning curve as they not only wrestled with this epic and weighty text, but also took on the production roles of lighting, sound, costume and set design.

Photos courtesy of Matthew Howat

Because of Reasons

Because of Reasons by Rob Reid

Directed By Petra Kalive

as part of 5PoundTheatre's 2013 Repertory Theatre - 5 works in 5 weeks.

Pendulum

Written by Meg Courtney, Pendulum is an adult, surreal and poetic investigation of what it is to forgive.

Presented as part of La Mama's exploration season 2012.

Pendulum is an adult, surreal and poetic investigation of what it is to forgive.

Integrating animation and live action, this Exploration Season develops the work of Meg Courtney and Petra Kalive.

Wednesday is 16 when time stops forever. Wednesday is 30 and haunted.

She must try to forgive herself the unforgivable, but will Cuckoo cut

his puppet strings?

Cast:

Kate Gregory (Wednesday)

James Tresise (Cuckoo)

Terry Camilleri (Granddad)

Animator:

Rebecca Hayes

Rehearsal/Performance Photography:

Sarah Walker

Three Dog Night

Directed by Andrew Gray, Three Dog Night was first produced at fortyfivedownstairs in Melbourne in 2008 and then at the Adelaide Festival Centre in 2009.

Petra adapted and performed in the award-winning Peter Goldsworthy novel of the same name, Three Dog Night, questions the philosophical challenge of learning how to die and Australia’s conflicted multi-culture. It is an ironic, restless and at times confronting work about the fathomless human capacity for self-deception; about the means we invent to hide our true feelings.

This modern day tragedy explores the underlying impulses that shape human behaviour via an Aboriginal Dreaming. Indigenous spirituality and storytelling are intrinsic to this story’s exploration of the clinical conviction that compassion is the means to liberation. Beginning in the Adelaide Hills, Three Dog Night journeys to the vast expanse of the Australian outback and takes us deep into the desert of the human soul.

“Two Blue Cherries, Three Dog Night is a dramatically assured three-hander…Andrew Gray’s direction excels at animating Golsworthy’s ironic repartee. The naturalistic drama is also surefooted…Misha Doumnov’s incidental music – a mix of live violin and pre-recorded sounds – adds a pensive texture. Goldsworthy’s novel involves a dramatic triangulation between love and death and the life of the mind… this production encapsulates that tension in a compelling way.“ Cameron Woodhead, The Age

“Two Blue Cherries is a new independent theatre company making a very impressive debut production and are a welcome addition to Melbourne’s professional theatre community.”

Moving day. Six 20 something’s. One St Kilda share house. Some are escaping pushy parents, others have pushed theirs over the edge. Some have been roaming free for a while and others just need a place to call home. In one night, tempers are tested, relationships blossom, and they all share a drink as things heat up.

An Evening with John & Elise Curtin

Written & Directed by Petra Kalive

Produced by Tim Stitz for the National Trust of Western Australia, 2011

A biographical installation piece of theatre, supported by the National Trust of Western Australia. The performance season was part of a pilot program for on-going heritage and conservation activities at 24 Jarrad Street, the home of Prime Minister John Curtin and his wife Elsie.

John and Elsie Curtin interrupt a dinner for 8-12 guests held in-situ at the Curtin Residence, in Cottesloe, Perth. The interruption takes the form of a 20-30 minute performance where John and Elsie reminisce about their life and times at Jarrad Street.

John Curtin was Australiaʼs Prime Minister from 1941 until his death in 1945. Across the political spectrum, Curtin is regarded as one of Australiaʼs finest prime ministers. He is the only Prime Minister to hold office entirely in wartime. His honesty, charm, strength of character, power of oratory and political acumen all marked him out as a great leader. Born in Creswick, Victoria in 1885, he moved to Perth in 1917 and in the same year married Elsie Needham. They settled in Cottesloe and had two children. John Curtin died in office on 5 July 1945, only weeks before the end of the war.

Blistering, poetic and bleakly hilarious, Rat is a play about being yourself against the grain of expectation.

Winner of the 2008 St Martins National Playwriting Award, ‘Rat’ has been supported by St Martins Youth Theatre and the City of Melbourne.'

“Summers has a sure gift for demotic speech, and an ability to create contradictory characters that lift out of stereotype into vital life…a writer to watch.” – Alison Croggon, Theatre Notes

“Directed with energy and unsentimental flourish, by Petra Kalive” – Elly Varrenti, The Age

Photography: Sarah Walker

Rat - La Mama Theatre

Hazel Curtis: Fear Doctor

Created and Performed by Petra Kalive

Written by Petra Kalive and Melissa Bubnic

Directed by Jason Geary

Performers: Petra Kalive, Shaun Brown

Lighting Design: Lisa Mibus

Premiere Season 2011, Mark Street Hall North Fitzroy

Hazel Curtis used to be just like you. She was fat, suburban, and deeply afraid. She had let fear – fear of failure, fear of success – imprison her. Not anymore. The world’s leading fear doctor, Hazel Curtis has helped millions cross the gorge from ‘afraid’ to ‘unafraid’. Let Hazel help and you too can relish life’s meaty juices.

“Absurdly bronzed and faintly sociopathic, Hazel Curtis emerges to afford us all an extreme emotional makeover. Curtis is bigoted, grotesque and tinged with the rot of Sylvania Waters. I laughed myself sick. Hyperbole, a white board and joyous nonsense conspire to make this a riotous evening” Helen Razer, The Age